Sofa-bed.



l son BBD,

APPLIGATN FILED MAY l, 1914.

UNITED srn'rns PATENT lornioefii.N

Fttnnirffnavzsjor cHIcAGo, iifiiiiicis, Assienon To rUiiLiviAii coUoHooiviPANY, a

1 ccnroiiarion or immers.

sera-issn.

To all ywhom timo concern:

Be itl known At atl74 Flinn M. lDavis, a

citizen` of the United States ofAinerica, and a. resident of Chicago,inthe county of Cool;

Y' and Sta-te of Illinois, have inventedcertain new and usefulimprovements in Sofa-Beds, of Whichthe following is aspecification.

This invention relates to convertible furniture ofthe class in which aseries o f foldably related bed sections are arranged to unfold 'toforina bed, and inore particularly to sofa'beds in ,which means areprovided for securing part of the sections in spaced 'foldedvielatioi1`-ivliilebeing unfolded or folded with respect tothe remainingsection or sections. Beds of thisJ character havel been made indifferentwayls, usually with a three fold bed portion pivoted directly to thefront-of the sofa. fraine,.or cai-,l

ried by a rotatably mounted hollow seat freine having aseat"nieinberlfor the sofal formed directly upon or calrried by one'side,

. and having the bed portion pivotally connected" to and: carried bythe' reverse side;Y

the bed in either'case being extensible transversely' ofthe sofa andbeing foldable one section over` another in the saine direction forstoragel under the seat ineinber when the l bed is notinuse.

The main objects of this invention are to provide an improved forin' offastening means adapted for securing ypart of the sec-4 ions in foldedrelation during the folding vand unfolding ofthe remaining sections; to

provide an improved form and arrangement offasteningineans carried by apair of sec. tions and adapted for automati'coperati'on bythe relativeturning movement of said see- -tions, to secure and, .releaseaiiotlie'i` section 'in its folded position iiifolding and unfolding thebed4 respectively; and. to provide cani means operatableautoinaticallyby `the folding and unf/)lding of the bed sections withthebed sections unfolded .ind with they,

near.' of the sofa frame. removed to show ,the det-fils ofthe seatmember andv operat# ving' mefins associated therewith. Figi 2J is fa*fragmentary plan vien7 of a portion of the bed b ottbin extended, andshovvs the rela Specification of Letters Patent. Paglted De@ 15, 15914.l

` Application filed May ii, isili. serial im. 837349.

. tive position'of the leg foldinganelf'sectioii locking iiieinbers onone side/of/tlie' bed. Eig. 3 is a side elevatioiijof'the/foot andmiddle sections of the bed illustrating the first stage of the unfoldingoperation with thefoot section locked in spacedfolded rela- 'tion uponthe middle sectioiif'and disposed in an upright position. Fi L1/4 is aside view similar to Figp but' illustrating thev next stageofiinfoldi/i'ig'l/,ithcniddle section being in its bed position ivi'fth'the foot section 'folded the-retina;and/the locking plunger beingretracted. Fig. 5`i's an enlarged frag'- nieiitaryfsidc"elevation of.the locking mechaiiisin shoiyn centrally on Fig. l7 the spacing latchbeing', in position-ready to receive the lockingplunger. Fig. (i is y anenlarged 'fragmentary view of the locking mechanism in the positionshown iii Fig'. 3. Fig. 7 is a side elevation of a latch member 'i vingits'y middle portion twisted ninety degrees f/onitlie plane of its ends.

In//tlie construction shown inthe drawings; the sofa bed comprises theusual housing or traine l having ends 2 and back 3 inA Vcombinationwithv a rota-ry seat frame 4 operatively mounted .between and supportedby the endsl. This. seat fraine on one side is adapted to serve as aseat 5, and the reverse side is forined as aV hollow' frame adapted andarranged to Vsupport` the bed sections pivotally attached thereto forun- .folding Whenv the seat franie 4L is' turned to its linvertedposition, as shown in Fig. 2. The connection of the seat frame fl .tothe sofa freine l may coiiipiiseany of the means Well liiiown inthe art,as plates 6 and 7 sc'- cured to the sofa ends 2 and seatfraine el;respectively and haviugpivotal relation. l

The benbottoni 'l2 comp-rises three long sections lll, 15 and 16 andtivo short connecting sections l? and 1S hinged together end to end inaltern-:ite positioiiaiid adapted to bc folded together upon the .underside of and Within the seat frame 4, with the long sections lyingsubstantially horizontal :ind with tlie'sliort sections disposedvcrtically.

the ends of tlieseat frame 4l ailjacent to that 'edge of tiie seat framewhich is in front when in the bed position. The oi'itei and upper endsof these brackets are forined and adapted-,as at 20,`toi"eceive thepivot ineinbers 2l carried by the side rails of tlieshort 1Bedsupporting brackets 19 are secured to l ile folded between the bedding(not shown). 17 and 18 are also of 17 and 18 respectively.

15 are hingedto the The head section 14 is raised and lowered Y vinhorizontal position within the seat frame with the shifting of section17 t'o and from its horizontal position respectively, vby

means of plates 22 located rearwardly ofv the brackets 19 and adjacentto the ends of the 'seat frame 4. Each plate 22 is formed with arearwardly inclinedforward surface 23 on which slide the studs orshoulders24 secured to section 14, each of which surfaces 23 terminatesat its upper end in a horizontal surface 25 on which the studs 24 restwhen the section 14 is shifted to its elevated or bed position, and' atits lower end terminates in a socket 26 which coacts with its respectivestud 24 for securing section 14 in its lowered position. j

Sections 16 and 18 are adapted to be folded with vsection 15 upon theseat frame with section 16 between sections 14 and 15. The head andmiddle sections may be of sub` stantially the same length, but lthe footsection 16 is somewhat shorter so that it may be longer sections, thedif`l ference in length being substantially equal to the thickness ofthe mattress and usual The short sections different lengths,- thedifference being a little more than the thick-V ness ofthe mattress andbedding. A locking bar 23 is carried by the frame 4 for s`ecuring thesections in complete folded re lation.

The outwardly disposed sections 16 and 1S are supported in their' bedposition by means of foldable legs 29 and 30 pivoted at 31 and 32 to theouter e'nds of sections 15 and 16 respectively. These legs arecontrolled automatically and 34 pivoted to the upper ends of the legsandnext rearwardly adjacent short sections Section 18 is braced by a rod35 lconnected at its ends to medial portions of the sides, said rodbeing U- shaped and having pivotal connection, whereby the U-portionaway from the botyas shown" in the Bartlett Patent No.

1,074,342issued September 30, 1913. Im-

proved automatic locking means are prof' vided for engaging said spacingmember The head section 14 ends thereof, lowerv by means of links 33'maybe swungparallel with the bed section when the bottomv ing quality ofthe middle section, said means comprising a lplunger 37 carried by themiddle section and slidable forward and backward by relative movement ofthe sections. The mounting for said plunger preferably comprises a pairof guide pins 38 spaced apart longitudinally on dle section, saidplunger being slotted lengthwise at 39 to receive said guide pins.

The plunger 37 is controlled by 'means of a cani member preferably inthe form of a plate 40 secured to the side of the adjacent section 17,which plate is attached rigidly in a Ver tical position by suitablemeans 41. Said plate projects forwardand overlaps the adjacent end ofsection 15. The cam` slot 43 is substantially*vertical at its lower endand curves backward somewhat and rccedes gradually from the adjacenthinge pivot 44 toward itsvupper end. The rearcnd of the the'side rail ofthe midi plunger is provided with a guide pin 45l which coacts with thecam slot to reciprovis moved with respect to the cam supporting slottedplate 40 and The short section 17.

pin 45 constitute the coact'ive cam members or cam mechanism proper andserve tol actuate the lock. l

The latch 36 is provided with a'notch 46 in one edge adjacentto itsouter end adapted to receive the finger 47 of the plunger ,37 when thelatter is advanced in folding the bed. The opposite edge of the latch isvpcm vided with a downwardly facing shoulder projecting by the side 48adapted to seat upon the shoulder 'or stop pin 5 0 carried rail 'of themiddle section. The outer cud of the4 latch is beveled on its oppositeeorv' ners so as to facilitate and lnsure'proper entry between the stopshoulder 50 and plunger 37 in foldingthe foot sectioirupo'n f the middlesection.

Preferably the lower` Sida-f thQntCh adjacent to.

47 are correspondingly bevele somewhat se the edge of the latch and thelower forward corner of thelunger finger v that they are urged apartupon lifting-the."

foot section when the plunger and latch aref only slightly engagedasshown Moreover, the latch 36 and plungerv 37 are in. Fig. ff

preferably positioned a11d*`relatedso that;Y when the notched end ofthelatch passes x the tip of the plunger finger 47 in foldin latch.- issprung back slightlyA the bed, the by coaction of its'ibeveledv lower-edge wit the forward end of said plunger'` tinger whereby the plungerand latch are sprung into yielding engagement to a small degree,z butsu'liicient to overcome .the expansive or less elastic bedding'`section?" force of the more l (not shown) so as to hold the footdefinitely in its folded position jwhen the middle section isbeing-raised. 'The yield-Vv spaeing member may be 'iso i aso Cir

somewhat increased if its middle portion is twisted 900 from the planeof its ends, as shown by the latch 3o in Fig. 7.

The 'plunger and `cam are preferably, tlioirlrnot necessarily, made inseparate nai .asshown specifically in the drawings, and tfhocam plateisprel'erably, though not necessarilygthe rigidly mounted member of the, cam mech a ni sin.

The o1k follows; The seat frame 'inverted from its sofa positin 'and thebed sections are thon unfolded to the position shown in Figs. .E3 and,on the middle and foot sectionsrv being held in folded relation by thefully engaged latch and plunger. When the sect-ions are further"unfoldedto the position shown in Fig. ll, the plunger thereby Withdraunby actionol' the cam almost wholly from engagement with the latch, and the slightremaining engagement may be readily overcome by lifting upward'on thefoot section in unfolding the latter to its bed position.

rThe folding operation is as follows: Fi rst, the foot section is foldedupon the middle section, whereby the outer end of the latch projecteddownward between the stop .shoulder 50 and the forward end of the punger Where, if the latch member is`si1itably adjusted for suolipurpose, the latch andy plunger spring slightly into yieldableengaoeniient. Upon further folding the bed byraising the middle section,the plunger 37 is impelled forward by thc cam member into fullengagement with the latch notch Lie 'whereby the foot and middlesections are securely locked in spaced folded relation. 'lfheniuh'ioncompleting the folding operation .by swinging the foot and middlesections down upon the head section the sections may be locked togetherby the bar 28 in the manner provided and the seat frame may be rotatedto its normal la position.

Although but one specific embodiment of this invention has been hereinshown and described, it will be understood that numerous details of theconstruction shown may be altered omitted without departing fromthospiritot this invention as shown by the following ci aims.

lr (im eration v for unfolding vthe bed is as el foidable hed bottom,omprisiug av spectively, one of said locking members and another of saidsections being adapted and arranged for springing into yieldableengagement when said section is folded, and

Ysaid pair of looking members having cam relation adapted for throwingsaid` one member into non-yielding ei'iga'gement with said other sectionby the folding of said' tire sections with respect to each other.

In a foldable bed bottom, a plurality ol sections hinged together, oneof said' sections having a section spacing member substantially integraltherewith, in combination Awith automaticsection locking meanscomprising a pair of coactively related members iarried by 'two adjacentother of said sections respectively, one of said locking members andsaid spacing member being adapted and arranged to spring into yieldabloengagement when the said one lsectionl is folded, and said pair' oflocking mem bers having cam relation adapted for throwing said onelocking member into non-yielding engagement with said spacing member bythe. folding of said two sections with respect to each other.

4l. A. foldable bed bottom, comprising a plurality of bed bottom framesections hinged together, in combination with a cam carried by 'one ofsaid sections, and section locking means operatably mounted else- Whereon said bed bottom, said section locking means boing adapted andarranged to coact with said cam for control thereby in folding andunfolding the sections.

5. A, foldable bed bottom, comprising a plurality of sections hingedtogether, in combination with locliing means comprisimg` a spacingmember carried by one of the sections, a plunger carried by another ofsaid sections and adapted to engage said spacing 'meni.ber, and a cammember carried bya third section adapted to lactuate said plunger infolding and unfolding the bed bottom.

6. A foldable bed bottom, comprising a pair of long sections, a shortsection connecting said long sections, a fourth section Ahinged to theopposite edges of one of the long sections, `in combination with aspacing member carried by one of said long sec tions, a plunger carriedby the other of said long sections adapted for engaging said spacingmember to hold the long sections in spaced folded relation, and a cammember carried by the said fourth section adapted;

and arranged for sliding said plunger into and out of engagement withsaid spacing member in folding and unfolding the bed bottomrespectively.

i. pair of long sections, a short section connecting said long sections,a fourth section hinged to the opposite edges of one of the ing membercarried by one of said long sec*k A' foldablebed bottom, comprising a.l

'l llo long sections, inlcombination With a spac reo tions, a plungercarried by the other of said long sections. adapted for engaging saidspacing member. to hold the long sections in spaced folded relation, anda cam member` carried by the .said fourth section adapted and arrangedfor sliding said plunger into and out of engagement with said spacingmember in folding and ,unfolding the bed bottom respectively, said camand spacing members being mutually adapted to spring into yieldablevengagement upon partial folding of said bed bottom and said cam beingadapted and arranged to throw said locking members into non-yieldingengagement by further folding said bed bottom.

8. A' foldable bed bottom comprising a plurality combination withsection locking means of sections hinged together;v

comprising a pair of co-active members havof said members being securedrigidly to its supporting section and the ciprocatably mounted. A A

Signed at Chicago this 8th day of Mav 1914. FREnMpMis other being re-Witnesses:

ROBERT S. MAnTiNl`` WILLIAM E. HAN

